Live, in Photos: Just Like Heaven 2025 with Rilo Kiley, Vampire Weekend, Slowdive, and More

EventsLive, In Photos

Live, in Photos: Just Like Heaven 2025 with Rilo Kiley, Vampire Weekend, Slowdive, and More

TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, Empire of the Sun, and more from the nostalgia-heavy indie fest in Pasadena.

Photos: Skylar Watkins

May 12, 2025

Pasadena’s aughts-era nostalgia-filled Just Like Heaven fest returned to Brookside at the Rose Bowl this past weekend, with fans battling the SoCal heatwave to catch sets from Vampire Weekend, TV on the Radio, Bloc Party, Empire of the Sun, and many more. But the big news this year, of course, was the reunion of one of Los Angeles’ most beloved bands of the era: Rilo Kiley. “Can you believe,” Jenny Lewis asked the crowd before launching into their hit-filled set, “that this is our third show in 17 years?”

Headliners Vampire Weekend were also feeling sentimental for the early 2000s, as they strung together a medley of what frontman Ezra Koenig called “a salute to indie,” including covers of hits by Phoenix (“Lisztomania”), Tame Impala (“The Less I Know the Better”), Beach House (“Space Song”), Grizzly Bear (“Two Weeks”), and TV on the Radio (“Wolf Like Me”). Elsewhere, Kurt Vile joined Courtney Barnett for their collaborative track “Lotta Sea Lice,” Shiny Toy Guns’ Carah Faye filled in for The Sounds on vocals after singer Maja Ivarsson faced visa issues, Empire of the Sun brought their visual theatrics to the Brookside grounds, and Slowdive delivered a perfectly dreamy sunset performance to usher in the arrival of cooler nighttime weather.

When she wasn’t hiding in the shade, FLOOD photographer Skylar Watkins was in the photo pit capturing highlights throughout the festival. Check them out below.